Hot-air engine



1;614,962 Jan- 18 g 1927- J. KOENIG Filed March s; 1925 As Sheets-sheet 2 @SowA/@W L61 ,962 Jan. 18,1927- J. KoENlG 4 HOT AIR ENGINE Filed March 5. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5- Imaam/foy' J :521:11 Kmen Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

1,614,962 PA'I'YENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH KOENIG, OF MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN.

HOT-AIR ENGINE.

Application filed March 3, 1925.` Serial No. 12,875.

This invention relates to hot air motors.

Objects of this invention are to provide a hot air motor which maybe used for a variety of purposes, and may, ify desired, be used as a` toy, although eminently suited for other purposes.

Further objects of this invention are to provide a hot air motor which has means provided for causingy a direct action of a liquid upon a rotary type of motor without permitting slipping of the liquid past such motor, and which is so construct-ed that ai-r is expanded and contracted and'V actnatcs the liquid to dri-ve the rotary motor.

Further objects are to provide a hot air motor in which a liquid is employed to directly actuate the rotary member andin which the liquid is alternately moved in opposite directions by the heating and chilling of the air, and although so moved, nevertheless acts upon the rotary member in the same direction and causes a uniform and. positive rotation of such member.

Further objects are to provide a het air motor in which a novel form of displacing piston is employed, in which the hot and cold ends of the piston are removed a great distance from each other to correspondingly lessen the conduction from one end of the apparatus to the other, and in which simple and effective means are provided for controlling and operating the pistons. Y

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:v

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View through the heating and cooling cylinders.

Figure 2 is an end view of the motor.

Figure 3 is a sectional View on the line 3 3 of Figure 4.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the motor portion of the mechanism.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 5 5 of Figure The motor portion ofthe apparatus 1s most clearly illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 and,'referring to such figures, it will be seen that a pair of rotary members 1 are provided with intermeshing teeth and are enclosed in a casi'ng`2 which accurately lits the outer ends of the teeth throughout a por A tion of th'eirextent, as most clearly brought out in Figure 4. This casing 2 is extended upwardly to provide a pairof cylinders 3 and 4. The cylinders, as shown in Figure 5, are each provided with an upwardly opening valve 5 and a downwardly-opening valve .6. These valves may communicate with ticul'arly in Figure 5. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the valve 6 permits liquid in the cylinder 4 to pass downwardly into t-he compartment-8 andl the valve 5 permit-s liquidL to passupwardly from the comp-artment 9, which houses the rotary member 1, into the cylinder 4. In the position shown in Figure 4, the liquid in the cylinder 3 is descending and is passing from the compart- 'ment 8 through the opening 1() into the compartment 9 and is consequently driving the rotary members. The discharging liquid from the compartment 9 is passing upwardly past the valve 5 of the cylinder 4. Obvious ly, these valves may be interchanged with a consequent change in. the direction vof rotation in the members 1 without departing from the spirit of this invention.

One of the members 1 is provided with a drive shaft 11 which projects outwardly through the casing 2 and is suitably packed by means `of a stutling box 12 of any desired type found most suitable for this purpose. It is to be noted that the cylinders or compartments 3 and 4 are provided with loosely fitting floats 13 which prevent the heated air from coming directly in contact with the liquid.

The compartments or chambers 3 and 4 are placed in communication with the cylinders indicated generally at 15 and 16 by means of pipes 17 and 18 which passinto the upper portion of the chambers 3 and 4, and which communicate with the cylinders 15 and 16 in any suitable manner.4

The cylinders 15 and 16 are provided with hollow pistons 19 are provided whichconsist of widely spaced ends 20 and 21, connected bya Vcylindrical shell 22, as shown most hot and cold ends heated and cooled in any clearly in Figure 1. This construction of widely spaced piston heads, due to the peculiar construction of the piston, materially prevents conduction of heat from one end of the piston to the other and causes the remote parts of the elongated pistons to act as extensive heating and cooling surfaces in addition to the corresponding walls of the cylinders. These pistons are provided with piston rods 23 which project outwardly through stuiiing boxes. Preferably, the stuffing boxes are provided with packing 211 and 25 at spaced points and with a pressure oil chamber' 26 intermediate such packing, theI pressure oil chamber being provided in any suitable manner with oil under pressure.

The piston rods 23 are connected by means of short links 27 with opposite ends of a rocking lever 28 rigidly secured to a rock shaft 29. lThis rock shaft is carried by a suitable bracket extending upwardly from the base and is provided with a short lever arm 30. Preferably, this rock shaft is oscillated in any suitable manner from the driving shaft 11 from the rotary member. For example, the drive shaft 11 may be provided with a worm 31 which meshes with a worm wheel 32 carried by a transverse shaft 33. This transverse shaft also carries a crank disk 34 provided with a crank pin 35. The crank pin and the short lever arm 30 are connected by a link 36. If de* sired, the drive shaft 11 may be provided with a fly wheel 37. Any suitable means may be employed for taking power from the shaft 11. F or example the fly wheel may be belted to the load.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Rotation of the drive shaft 11 is transmitted through the redaction gearing consisting of the worm 31 and the worm wheel 32 to the transverse shaft 33 and through the medium of the crank mechanism rocking motion is transmitted to the shaft 29. The shaft 29 is rigidly attached to the lever 28 and consequently rocks Such lever and reciprocates the piston rods 23 in opposite directions, thus correspondingly moving the pistons 19 and displacing the air first towards the hot end of the cylinder and, thereafter, towards the cool end in an alter nate manner for the two cylinders. As the air expands and contracts in the two cylinders, it will pressthe liquids in the two cylinders 3 and 4i, alternately downwardly, and will thus cause the liquids, under the control of the valves 5 and G, to iiow in the same direction past the rotary members 1. This will cause a uniform rotation of the shaft 11 from which power may be taken, as stated.

The iioats 13 prevent the hot air from damaging the liquid within the casing 2 and chambers 3 and li. For example, this liouid may be oil, and the floats will, therefore, prevent the hot air from contacting with any but an extremely limited surface of the oil, thus preventing deteriorating action to a marked extent.

It will be seen that'a hot air motor has been provided in which the pressure of the expanding air is transmitted to a liquid medium and such medium in turn drives the rotary members in a positive v`manner. Further, it will be seen that the device is relatively simple and does not consist of a large number of parts.

If desired, as shown in Figure 4;, inlet valves 38 may be provided for the cylinders 3 and d to permit the induction of air or other gas under pressure so that the entire motor may operate under pressure if desired.

For example, as air is pumped into the system through each of the valves 38, it merely places the entire system under initial compression; that is to say, the entire system is above atmospheric pressure. Thev successive alternate differences of pressures between the two sides of the system causes the water to flow as described in detail above.

I claim:

1. A hot air engine comprising a liquid operated motor enclosed in a compartment, said compartment having an inlet opening at one end and having a pair of valve controlled outlet openings in the other end, and a second compartment mounted adjacent the first compartment and communicating with the inlet aperture of the first said compartment, said second compartment having a pair of inwardly opening valves, a pair of upper compartments communicating respectively with an inlet and an outlet valve, a pair of air conditioning cylinders, each cylinder being connected with one of the upper compartments, said air conditioning cylinders having heating means at one end and cooling means at the other end, and n'iechanism connected with said motor for alternately shifting the air within the air conditioning cylinders in opposite directions.

2. A hot air engine comprising an upright container, said container having a curved bottom portion divided into a front and rear compartment, a rotary motor mounted in the front compartment and cooperating with the curved bottom, a rear compartment mounted adjacent the front compartment and having an opening communicating with. such front compartment, a pair of upper compartments each having valves therein, one of the valves opening upwardly from one of said first mentioned compartments, and the other valve opening downwardly into the other of said first mentioned compartments, liquid contained in all of said compartments. a fioat carried by the liquid and substantially covering the upper tively With said motor, Said air condition- 10 surface thereof in each of the upper coming cylinders each having means at one end partments, a pair of air conditioning cylinfor cooling such end and having means atders, each cylinder being connected respecthe other end for heating that end.

tively with one of the upper compartments, In testimony that I claim the foregoing pistons mounted in said air conditioning I have hereunto set my hand at TWO Rivers, 15 cylinders and adapted to displace the air in the county of Manitowoc and State of therein alternately in opposite directions, Wisconsin.

mechanism connecting said pistons opera JOSEPH KOENIG. 

